Running 32 bit Programs In Vista 64 bit?

M

MichaelR

New Member
Questions About Vista 64 Bit

Hello,

I am considering a purchase of a new PC running Windows Vista 64 bit. I have some questions.

Will some of my 32 bit programs run on Vista 64 bit? I am thinking about Firefox 3 and Thunderbird 2 especially. Does Vista 64 have a compatibility mode where I can run 32 bit applications? If yes, does the compatibility mode actually work?

I am planning on some multimedia work recording music and video. I know that I need a second hard drive. One for the OS and one to record to. The model of PC that I am considering has a RAID configuration using two hard drives. How would these drives appear to me in Vista 64 bit? As one drive? As two? If it is one drive, can I set a partition to have the two drives I need? If so, are partitions difficult to setup?

What are your opinions on the 64 bit system? Is this the future and eventually everything will be going 64 bit, or will it fade out as a good idea that never happened? The PC I am looking at is expensive and I wish to know if it will be useful for a long time.

Is Vista 64 going to be the current OS and more and more companies will be supporting it? Is Vista going to be around for a long time? I am seeing buzz about Windows 7. When would Windows 7 be out and would it require 64 bit?

I think that's it for now. Any advice appreciated!

- Michael R
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

Re: Questions About Vista 64 Bit

Hello Michael and welcome to Vista Forums.

Answers inline:

Will some of my 32 bit programs run on Vista 64 bit? I am thinking about Firefox 3 and Thunderbird 2 especially. Does Vista 64 have a compatibility mode where I can run 32 bit applications? If yes, does the compatibility mode actually work?
Click to expand...

Yes 32-bit programs will run just fine normally in Vista 64-bit. You should double check though to make sure that the program supports 64-bit though. You can check an the program publisher's website, and at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/compatibility/.


I am planning on some multimedia work recording music and video. I know that I need a second hard drive. One for the OS and one to record to. The model of PC that I am considering has a RAID configuration using two hard drives. How would these drives appear to me in Vista 64 bit? As one drive? As two? If it is one drive, can I set a partition to have the two drives I need? If so, are partitions difficult to setup?
Click to expand...

A RAID 0 configuration will show as one drive. If you want them as two separate drives, then you will need to enter your RAID controller settings and separate the drives that way. You will need to consult your Raid controller's (maybe onboard with motherboard) manual for exact details on how though. Another option is to connect the drives only one at a time and format them separately.

This tutorial will help show you how to create partitions once you have the drives off RAID.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/95398-disk-management-shrink-partition.html


What are your opinions on the 64 bit system? Is this the future and eventually everything will be going 64 bit, or will it fade out as a good idea that never happened? The PC I am looking at is expensive and I wish to know if it will be useful for a long time.
Click to expand...

I think 64-bit is much better. You can read more about in the articles at this link below to help you decide how you may like it.

http://www.vistax64.com/vista-news/99613-64-bit-more-than-just-ram.html


Is Vista 64 going to be the current OS and more and more companies will be supporting it? Is Vista going to be around for a long time? I am seeing buzz about Windows 7. When would Windows 7 be out and would it require 64 bit?
Click to expand...

Like XP, Vista will eventually be replaced by Windows 7 or some other future version of Windows. The Windows 7 RC is available to download for the public to try out if you like though.


Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Hi Michael,

In addition to what Shawn has said, certain programs, although they will run in a 64-bit version of Windows, cannot be installed because the installer is a 16-bit application. Such installers will not work on a 64-bit system.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dwarf Dwf/11/2012 r09/2013
    CPU
    Intel Core-i5-3570K 4-core @ 3.4GHz (Ivy Bridge) (OC 4.2GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M
    Memory
    4 x 4GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B (16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GTX770 Gaming OC 2GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition on board solution (ALC 898)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VA1912w Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    OCZ Agility 3 120GB SATA III x2 (RAID 0)
    Samsung HD501LJ 500GB SATA II x2
    Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 1TB SATA II
    Iomega 1.5TB Ext USB 2.0
    WD 2.0TB Ext USB 3.0
    PSU
    XFX Pro Series 850W Semi-Modular
    Case
    Gigabyte IF233
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm Front Inlet 1 x 120mm Rear Exhaust
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 (USB)
    Mouse
    Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000 for Business (USB)
    Internet Speed
    NetGear DG834Gv3 ADSL Modem/Router (Ethernet) ~4.0 Mb/s (O2)
    Other Info
    Optical Drive: HL-DT-ST BD-RE BH10LS30 SATA Bluray
    Lexmark S305 Printer/Scanner/Copier (USB)
    WEI Score: 8.1/8.1/8.5/8.5/8.25
    Asus Eee PC 1011PX Netbook (Windows 7 x86 Starter)
Hi,

Is there a way to tell if a program has a 32 bit or 16 bit installer?

Does Windows Vista 64 have a compatibility mode? Can I set a program to run in a 32 bit mode or does this happen automatically? Does Vista 64 have a "Windows XP" mode? How does that work?

Can installing 32 bit programs that do not fully work in Vista 64 cause the OS to become unstable?

- MichaelR.
 

My Computer

System One

32 bit programs work in 64 bit Windows because of a subsystem that handles the differences between 32 and 64 bit programs.

Typically the programs that don't work in Vista are either not compliant with the programming standards (and may/may not cause any trouble) - or they're working at too low of a level (which will cause problems). An example of the latter is a 32 bit antivirus program.

To be absolutely sure you'll need to let us know the programs that you're referring to.
 

My Computer

System One

Hi

Most 32bit apps will work on vista 64bit.. But there are some that don't for some reason.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    mm-vision.dk (XForce)
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 965 3.20GHz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte EX58-UD4P
    Memory
    12Gb Kingston 1333MHz DDR3 CL9 DIMM (6 x 2Gb)
    Graphics Card(s)
    GForce GTX 295
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic VX2260wm
    Screen Resolution
    1,920 x 1,080
    Hard Drives
    1 x WD VelociRaptor WD1500HLFS 150 GB 10000rpm
    2 x Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 1.5 TB 7200rpm
    PSU
    Corsair TX750W
    Case
    SilverStone KL01B-W
    Cooling
    Stock
    Keyboard
    Roccat VALO
    Mouse
    Logitech G5
    Internet Speed
    12Mbit / 1Mbit
Each app is different, so it really does depend on the app. On the day that Vista was released I managed to make a WFW 3.1 game work (Omar Sharif's Bridge). I was also able to get AVG antivirus to work before it was made compatible - but there were other apps that refused to work no matter how hard I tried to massage them.
 

My Computer

System One

Hi,

Thanks everyone for your input. The programs I am especially concerned about are Mozilla Firefox 3.XX and Thunderbird 2.XX. I have been browsing the web and I am getting mixed opinions on if they work or not with Vista 64 bit. I use both of these programs quite a lot and would like to continue to use them.

Question: If a 32 bit program isn't running very well in Vista 64, can I put the program in Windows XP compatibility mode?

Thanks,

Michael R
 

My Computer

System One

MichaelR said:
Hi,

Thanks everyone for your input. The programs I am especially concerned about are Mozilla Firefox 3.XX and Thunderbird 2.XX. I have been browsing the web and I am getting mixed opinions on if they work or not with Vista 64 bit. I use both of these programs quite a lot and would like to continue to use them.

Question: If a 32 bit program isn't running very well in Vista 64, can I put the program in Windows XP compatibility mode?

Thanks,

Michael R
Click to expand...

Firefox and thunderbird work fine in 64 bit i have them both , you can even install a 64 bit version of firefox Firefox:Download - Mozilla x86-64 flash videos wont work in 64 bit browser yet though , you'll need the 32 bit version for that

a 32 bit program will run fine on x64 if its not running well its nothing to do with the fact its on a 64 bit install , but sometimes some programs do need to be run in XP compatibility mode or they wont run at all.

Make older programs run in this version of Windows - Windows Vista Help
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 @ 4Gig / Titan Fenir
    Motherboard
    XFX 780i
    Memory
    4GB OCZ PC2-8500C5 DDR2
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gainward GTX260/216 SLI
    Sound Card
    Creative X-FI Xtreme Gamer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell UltraSharp 2209WA 22"
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    western digital raptor 10000rpm sata
    PSU
    OCZ Modstream 700w
    Cooling
    Titan Fenir
    Keyboard
    Razer Reclusa
    Mouse
    Logitech G5 Gamer
    Internet Speed
    8mb
I have been using both 32 bit programs with Vista x64 since it was in Beta and they work just fine.

Because Flash isn't working with 64 bit browsers yet, I've opted not to use them. I will switch to a 64 bit browser once it's able.
 

My Computer

System One

Hi,

Thanks to everyone for their input.

I hear a 64 bit OS that handles high amounts of RAM is ideal for video and music creation.

Another question:

Do programs such as Norton Utilities and Norton Internet Security slow down an OS performance when say doing video editing or audio recording?

If they do slow down an OS, is there a way to temporarily disable them?

Any artists out there?

Thanks,

Michael R
 

My Computer

System One

You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top